4 Year Old With Hands Constantly In Mouth!!!

[lilcupcakes09]

How do I break him of this???? It drives me crazy!! He has only been here for a few months and I am sooooo tired of telling him everyday all the time "get your fingers/hands out of your mouth". It is bad enough I have to deal with toddlers putting everything in theirs mouths but he is old enough to know better! If this were my own child, I would be putting hot sauce or that stuff made for thumb ****ing on his hand, but obviously that isn't an option!

[MarinaVanessa]

Constantly sending him to wash his hands has always helped me. Every time you catch him I'd walk him to the sink and wash thoroughly. I'd also remove whatever items or toy he was playing with until you can sanitize. Sometimes the hassle of having to stop playing and having a toy removed is enough to tire them out of the habit.

If that doesn't work you can try putting gloves on him until he no longer has the need to put his hands in his mouth. Much more severe but also works if nothing else does.

[rmc20021]

I have a 5 yo boy who does that also...but he also puts his fingers into his nose and then into his mouth in addition to just having his fingers in his mouth all the time.

I also hate when a kid chews/****s on their shirt sleeves....GROSS!!!!

[SarahJo]

I second the hand washing. We have had a couple of preschoolers over the years who would put their hands in their mouths all the time. We started having them wash their hands every time they put them in their mouths (to get all the germs off, we wouldn't want to share germs with our friends!) and it always stops in a few weeks